


Digital Love

by formosus_iniquis



Category: Almost Human
Genre: Brief Misunderstandings, M/M, Pet Names, Touching, john and valerie drinking buddies, john is a little dense sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-18
Updated: 2014-02-18
Packaged: 2018-01-12 21:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1201957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/formosus_iniquis/pseuds/formosus_iniquis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dorian started it, he started it and now things had been blown so far from where they had been John’s not even sure how they got here. Here being him turning to acknowledge Dorian as he wrapped an arm around his waist and with his head propped on John’s shoulder “Sweetheart, I think I found a break in the case.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Digital Love

**Author's Note:**

> I love pet name fics almost as much as I love don't realize they're dating fics, and the fandom was woefully low on them. So I decided to take it upon myself to fix the problem, let me know what you think

Dorian started it, he started it and now things had been blown so far from where they had been John’s not even sure how they got here. Here being him turning to acknowledge Dorian as he wrapped an arm around his waist and with his head propped on John’s shoulder “Sweetheart I think I found a break in the case.” That wasn’t the strange part, the strange thing was that he didn’t see anything wrong with it. At least not until he heard Richard cough, how he managed to make that sound smug was a mystery that might never be solved, but when he heard that smug noise he remembered that they were in the middle of the bull pen and everyone they worked with was staring at them. Shit, how did he even get here?

O.o.O

It started with the touching. At random intervals and random places but especially in the car. If John wasn’t paying attention while Dorian was trying to speak he’d get his attention, a hand on the knee if John was driving or his wrist if they weren’t in the car. They started to linger once John stopped flinching away. Then he started to touch back, a hand on the shoulder to still his partner, a pat on the back for a job well done, and even a hand at the small of Dorian’s back if he wasn’t going where John wanted or wasn’t moving fast enough. In the span of about a month, thirty-five days Dorian would later correct, they’d reached a point where you could call the touching casual. The hand Dorian would place on John’s knee might stay there the entire time they were in the car, neither would realize until they went to get out of the car. The hand John would put in the small of Dorian’s back to quickly lead him where he wanted him at a crime scene could stay there until Dorian saw something on the other side of the scene, changing to Dorian’s hand wrapped around his wrist so he could drag John to where he was needed.

John was man enough to admit the pet names were actually his fault. When he wanted Dorian’s attention quickly it was faster and less of a mouthful to just call him D. Dorian seemed to appreciate the familiarity, recognizing it was a nickname and a definite step up from how John used to treat him – and still treats the MXs but baby steps. Dorian seemed to think that now it was okay to call him Reggie. Which, of course, made John try to find the worst nickname he could so Dorian would stop calling him Reggie, the plan seemed fool proof in his head. He tried sugar tits first, that one seemed the most awful and if he started out bad then things might end sooner. It didn’t end well, it took Dorian too long to realize John was talking to him and by that point Detective Stahl was glaring so hard at him he was worried he might die. So John didn’t use that one again, he didn’t even thing about using that one again. He changed the pet names every time he used one and he only used one if they were alone.

It was sweetie pie in the car when Dorian asked him if he would talk to Rudy.

Baby when he was trying to get Dorian to relax about some stupid comment that Richard had made.

Honey when Dorian made a break on the case they were working.

All that said it took Dorian a surprisingly long time to pick up on what John was doing; John could see the moment Dorian figured out what was going on, the realization as obvious on his face as his disco lights. But then it was hardly subtle when John called him babe and told him to turn down the radio.

When Dorian started to retaliate with the pet names John wouldn’t respond, refused to respond to sugar when Dorian wanted him to hand over a file he was looking at.

He didn’t even grunt when Dorian asked him where they were headed, boo.

He’d managed to not answer to the pet names for days. But during a hectic paper work filled afternoon when Dorian mumbled, “Hand me that pad please, darling.” John, who was in the middle of filling out the paperwork for the case they’d just finished and he handed the pad over without a thought. He realized what he did as soon as the pad left his hand, he sent a panicked look to Dorian whose smug smile said he was very aware of John’s slip.

That’s when it became a game between the two of them, like chicken, see who would break first. It started with little touches, in more public places, accompanied by names like baby, honey, sugar, and babe. When nobody broke they upped the intensity, longer touching and standing closer together when they didn’t have their hands on each other, stranger pet names were dropped as often as they could like pumpkin, angel, cutie pie, and on one odd car ride love accompanied by a British accent that sounded strange leaving Dorian’s mouth.

By the time a couple weeks had passed the two of them had settled into a comfortable routine. They had names they stuck with – Dorian usually used sweetheart, darling, and honey while John used baby, sweetie, and sugar – and they had their hands on each other more often than not.

Which is how they got here, with Dorian wrapping himself around John as the entire bullpen stared at the two of them and Captain Maldonado shouting, “Kennex, my office now.”

John walked into Sandra’s office cautiously, “I haven’t done anything today, how am I in trouble?”

She glared at him, “John I’ve overlooked your relationship with Dorian for as long as I could, but if you’re going to keep flaunting it at work you’ll have to file with HR.”

John laughed, “I’m gonna stop you there, I’m not dating Dorian.”

“Don’t bullshit me, John. Remember that ride along last week, Dorian had his hand on your thigh the entire ride.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” John denied.

She scowled, “Just handle whatever it is the two of you have and keep it out of my precinct, Kennex.”

John left Maldonado’s office with a weird feeling in his gut. He walked back to the main floor and flopped down at his desk. “What was that about, darling?” Dorian asked putting a hand on John’s shoulder. John flinched away from the touch and pretended not to see the hurt in Dorian’s eyes when he did. “John, are you okay man?” The concern in Dorian’s voice was doing things to him.

“Fine Dorian, I’m fine. I’m just, I’ll be back.” John didn’t run away but he made a strategic retreat, straight into Valerie.

“John, you look sick. Are you okay?” she asked.

“Do you have a sex?” he asked her, “And maybe a stiff drink?”

She smiled, “Sure I’ll meet you in conference room C in five.”

O.o.O

“So now Maldonado thinks that Dorian and I are together. I mean isn’t that ridiculous?” John finished telling her what had him so freaked out while he nursed the bourbon she’d snagged from her desk drawer.

“John, Maldonado thinks you’re dating Dorian because you’re dating Dorian. You have been for weeks now.”

He choked on his drink, “What are you talking about, I think I would know if I was dating my partner.”

“Clearly you wouldn’t Kennex. Ignoring the touching and nicknames you two have been using, which I’m sure has a totally logical explanation,” and there was an explanation for it the sarcasm wasn’t needed, “but how about this two weeks ago I asked you to the revival of that old sci-fi movie, the one with the actor that looks strangely like you, and you turned down what was definitely me asking you out because you were going to see it with Dorian.”

“I invited you along!”

“Yeah, while your arm was around Dorian’s waist. What about last week when we all went out for drinks after we closed the kidnapping investigation and you couldn’t come because you and Dorian were going to watch the game at your place.”

“Dorian can’t drink and we were already planning on watching the game.”

“Yesterday I asked if you wanted to watch the game and said you were having dinner with Dorian!”

“We were going over our case.”

“Whatever John, you can deny it if you want. But maybe think about this, there’s a reason you got so upset when Maldonado brought it up and maybe you should think about why that is.”

John shook his head, downing the rest of his drink and getting up to leave. “Also,” she added, “while you’re thinking you should consider how Dorian feels about all of this.”

O.o.O

As it turns out, before John had his breakdown Dorian really did make a break in the case, and John decided that going to investigate made a lot more sense than thinking about everything Valerie had dropped on him. “John man, are you okay?” Dorian asked when they were in the car, “You ran out of there pretty fast.”

John watched the aborted movement as Dorian started to put his hand on John’s leg. He knew it shouldn’t bother him but he didn’t like how hesitant Dorian was to touch him now.

John laughed, he hoped it didn’t sound nervous to Dorian too, “You’ll never believe it, people think that we’re together. How crazy is that?”

Dorian’s face closed off immediately, like a door slamming shut, “Yes, that is crazy, I cannot believe it.”

The robotic tone was like a knife in the gut. “So everything can back to normal, right?”

“Of course Detective Kennex, nothing has changed at all.”

John stopped the car, he could hardly remember the last time Dorian called him that. He thought back to what Valerie had said about him and his partner, how Dorian felt and why he was really upset. “Actually, there is one thing I’d like to change.”

“What would that be?” Even through the robotic tone John could hear the hope in Dorian’s voice.

“Yeah, I wanna be able to kiss you now.”

John realized he was definitely going to have to file with HR now. Maldonado might have let the pet names and the touching slide, but something told him the hickey on his neck wouldn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> Come hang out with me on tumblr


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